Lily Prune is a low cost line produced by Paris-based perfume house Ulric de Varens and marketed towards the below-20 set (as you might have guessed from the packaging). Lily Prune Sublime Vanilla was created by nose Jean Claude Ellena, and released in 2001; the notes are orange, cherry, plum, vanilla, amber, and sandalwood.
Sublime Vanilla starts out sweet, fruity and perfume-y, but improves on all three scores as it calms on skin. The dry down is a smooth, mildly powdery blend of sandalwood and amber with hints of almond and vanilla. It is only lightly sweet by the end, and considerably less foody than most vanilla fragrances; in fact, the vanilla itself is subtle and might not satisfy a true vanilla fanatic.
It was interesting to wear Sublime Vanilla after the last few days of reviewing the costlier Hermessence line, also by Jean Claude Ellena. As you'd expect, this is a less complicated fragrance, much younger in feel, and probably falls more into the comfort-scent category. It is very soft and cozy, almost fuzzy, and if it evokes a fabric, it would probably be your favorite soft, well-washed sweatshirt rather than any of the swanker materials evoked by the Hermessences (silk, cashmere, etc). Like your favorite sweatshirt though, it has its charms, and the price is much easier to swallow.
It is not a heavy scent once it settles, and could probably be worn in any but very hot weather. The lasting power is good.
Sublime Vanilla is $9.99 at Scentiments, and it is also available at smallflower.
Coming on Monday: an interview with Christopher Brosius of CB I Hate Perfume.
Oh, that sounds interesting, although I cannot say that the bottle does not put me off. Thanks for the review!
V, For some reason the bottle makes me think of underarm deodorant. Actually I think they also make a deodorant product of some sort in different packaging.
Yes, that is exactly what I am thinking about. Or else of home scenting devices, which also come into plastic packages like the one in the photo.
Hello R! Just to say a quick hello! No idea about this perfume but I am sure they have buyers. Mwah!
It sounds good to me. I'm always game for an amber sandalwood base. and sweet is not a problem for me.
:O)
N, how nice to see you! Hope you are well 🙂
V, you can do way worse for $10. It is smelling great on me right now because most of the amber has burned off, and it is mostly a soft & cozy sandalwood. Nothing terribly unusual, but nice.
I saw this on your notepad/wishlist and was wondering about it. Then when I read on your perfumers section of this blog that JC created it, I had the “Ah-ha!” moment.
Lily Prune Sublime Vanilla (sweet name!) sounds delightful! It's probably something my teenager would wear, but if I ever see it around (no, I will not go out of my way to find it!), I will certainly test it.
Hugs!
Yes, I am a JCE groupie, LOL!
It is not so sweet that I would call it a teenager scent, really, other than in the top notes. But nor is it so interesting that I am going to need a bottle.
Have been well thanks but just travelling a lot. I will be sending an email soon. Hope you are well.
xoxo
The bottles do put me off, unfortunately… they remind me of the clipper my husband has to trim the ends off cigars. Which I loathe, LOATHE, the smell of those, and the choking smoke they produce. I can stand a smoke filled foggy bar, but for some reason, just one cigar, even outdoors, can make me gag and sputter. So I can't help but find the bottle off putting. I am peculiar, perhaps.
K, I can see why you don't love the bottle then!
That sounds pretty good and not bad for the price! I can't wait until Monday's interview! 🙂
S, it actually grew on me over the course of the 2nd day I wore it. It is definitely not bad for the price!
Never smelled this one, but I do own the Patchouli Chic, from my pre-MUA days. (Does that surprise you, R?!?) It's a fun scent, not my HG patch, by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly worth the asking price. The bottle is a bit awkward to display if you don't have the room to lie it down. I'd love to try the Cotton Musk too.
K, Patchouli Chic is discontinued, right? Other than the awkward part, is the bottle “fun” or just cheap?
I want to try Fizzy Tea as well, but even $9.99 is too much to pay to sample.
I am new to the board, but wanted to say I have tried the Lily Prune Cotton Musk and am IN LOVE with it, and I am way over the 20 year old mark! I have never tried any of the other Lily Prune scents as of yet, but def am interested after falling in love with the musk one. It is a soft and powdery, kinda white musk scent, great for jeans and t-shirts days and hot weather too. If you love musk scents….def try this one!
Welcome Mary K! Haven't tried the Cotton Musk yet, but I hear all the Lily Prunes are starting to show up at TJ Maxx so I'm hoping to go take a look this week…maybe I'll get lucky!
Howdy….thanks for your welcome! Nice to “meet” you. WOW, TJ Maxx, really? I am gonna go and check it out…would love to try out the other Lily Prunes, as well as get some more Cotton Musk! Let me know if you are lucky enough to find some. I do wish they came in larger size bottles…that little 1 oz bottle went so fast I hardly knew I had it LOL!
Good luck to both of us — sometimes I read about something at TJ Maxx and it doesn't show up at mine for months. Hopefully one of us will get lucky!
This one reminds me a little of Un Bois Vanille (if I remember BV correctly since it has been awhile since I sampled it–definitely a vanille patchouli, tho)…I saw Sublime Vanille, the Cotton Musk and the Fizzy Tea at TJ Maxx for 7.99. It also comes with a little matching body spray.
It has been awhile since I sampled BV too, but don't remember it as smelling like patchouli. I mostly remember a very sweet, caramel-ish foody vanilla.
Going to check TJ Maxx again today…
Smelled this and it's interesting, not at all what I would think a teen would wear. To me it's kind of spicy sexy and more unique than alot of vanilla scents.
Completely agree, it is not the usual teen fare.
I want to buy this perfume at a online shop,but found the juice color is not transparent but red(like this: http://blog.donews.com/images/blog_donews_com/sophywt/60034/o_sv.jpg). I ask staff at the udv counter, they even don't know this perfume since it has been discountinued in my city for a few years. Could you tell me what color the juice is?
The juice in my sample is straw-colored — sort of a dull yellowish tan.
It is rare, but sometimes you will find that the juice changes color, sometimes dramatically, as it ages, presumably due to unstable chemicals. It doesn't always affect the smell.
thanks a lot~
I bought a bunch of samplers:). they smells not bad, and not that girlish as I thought before. The only problem is, its longevity is bit short on me.
PLEASE ANYONE OUT THERE!! I have been searching for the Lily Prune Sublime Vanilla for almost 3 years now. Is it still available and where can I purchase.
Many Thanks
PS I am from South Africa but I’m sure international shipping can be done.
I haven’t seen any in ages, sorry!